Spy: Susan Cooper Undercover

Spy is an action comedy starring the versatile and hilarious actress Melissa McCarthy. This movie is an American version of a James Bond movie, with added humor—but not in the manner of movies like Johnny English (2003) or Mordecai (2015). It's not a parody. The movie has a rather serious and complex plot complete with red herrings and twists. I wouldn't say it's completely realistic, but it's just enough to make it very funny without being too outlandish. It reminds me of one of my all time favorite action comedies "True Lies" (1994), where in both films unlikely people are thrust into CIA missions. Susan Cooper (McCartney) is a CIA agent who works as a guide for Bradley Fine (Jude Law). While Fine is doing field work, he is equipped with cameras. Cooper watches these cameras and alerts Fine of oncoming danger. During a mission to stop the transferring of a nuclear bomb, the cameras begin to malfunction, Cooper's images become unclear, and Fine is shot. The CIA chooses to put Cooper on the field to continue Fine's mission. Cooper has been at her desk her entire career, however Cooper is considered a CIA agent and therefore is considered qualified to take on the mission, although she is seemingly far from fit for the job in many ways. Being that Cooper has always worked at a desk, she is completely unknown to the enemies and can thus work well undercover. Having worked with Fine all these years, and having deeper feelings for Fine than even he knew, Cooper feels it is her duty to avenge Fine's death. She sets off to Europe jumping from one crazy circumstance to another. She quickly become more than meets the eye as her quick wit and even physical abilities are unleashed. This is a great comedy filled with witty banter, British satire, slapstick comedy and even some raunchy humor. Stay for the credits—even they're funny.

This is hardly the first or last spy parody movie. Some nail it (Johnny English), and some miss badly (the Austin Powers sequels). This one was just plain perfect. There's nothing original, but every cast member - McCarthy especially - nails every part. Comedies like this work best with real characters and unreal plots. Paul Feig clearly gets that. I laughed. A lot.

Was a decent parody of typical spy films and has a few laughs. Jason Statham was definitely my favourite part, often making fun of characters he has played before. This genuinely made me laugh quite a few times.

Rose Byrne as one of the villains was great as well. Overall the acting was quite good from everyone, nobody ruined any parts of the film with their performances. Some of the cinematography was good, nothing phenomenal though. However, some jokes did fall flat or were just over used. The film does try to parody spy films but ends up sticking to common tropes instead of commenting on them. I would think adding more commentary on these tropes would add to the comedic tone and maybe give more heart to it. But not every film needs to do this, definitely give it a chance, you may be surprised!

This movie is action in a comedy way.

I don't know how to describe it, but it was a good time I spent on it.

Every scene that Jason appears in I just laugh.

Great acting from all of the actors, no more to say.

Spy knows how to put a fun and modern spin on the spy genre in ways the major franchises would struggle to do. The plot is suitably twisty (some predictable & some unexpected) and even though there are occasional gaps between the laughs, it has more than enough to ensure that isn't a major issue.

Melissa McCarthy has been in some subpar comedies but roles like this offer a reminder that she's one of the best at comedy. This role is so different to her previous collaborations with Paul Feig (for the better) and requires a lot since the undercover work means her character is constantly changing.

Jason Statham is the best thing about this and the only downside is that he could be in it a lot more. It's possible he's only this good because he's in small doses to avoid too much of a good thing however, the major takeaway is that Statham is ridiculously gifted at comedy and it's a real crime that he's not utilised it more often.

Paul Feig's direction runs into his usual misstep of letting some scenes overstay their welcome and yet it doesn't derail it, mainly due to the jokes that do land being proper belly laughs. In the action, it's just a little over reliant on slow motion. Also, the music by Theodore Shapiro really nails the generic spy movie score.